Leave Me Breathless
by Bohemian Storm
Summary: Ginny wants to have a night of romance with Harry, even if he doesn't know about it, but her plans are about to be interrupted by someone she's never even looked at before.


Notes: I never, ever thought I'd be writing this but . . . wow, it just came out of me. Blame Robert, he's the fluff obsessed muse.   
Disclaimer: I don't own them. They belong to JKR.  
  
  
Breathless  
  
  
Ginny Weasley stared down at her dress robes and tugged on the sleeves self consciously. She hated the deep green robes her mother had bought her the year before, regardless of how many times Hermione insisted that they suited her perfectly. She didn't want her robes to 'suit her perfectly', she wanted a dress that would render Harry completely speechless, she wanted his head to turn and his jaw to drop but after six years at Hogwarts she still hadn't managed that. Oh, she had overcome her inability to speak eventually, but he still barely said more than two words to her and that was at the best of times.   
  
With a sigh, Ginny reached across the table and poured herself a mug of Butterbeer. She had wanted the Yule Ball to be perfect that year, she had wanted to be wearing a stunning dress, or at least a robe that fit her properly and didn't make her look like a giant green bean. Most of all, Ginny had wanted to go with Harry, but all the hinting and subtle comments in the world hadn't penetrated his thick, male skull. He had asked Parvati, of all people, to go with him and Ginny had been left cursing the older girl's name at every available moment.  
  
Life just wasn't fair.  
  
Instead, Ginny had once again donned the same green robes and had gone down to the robe with Ron and Hermione, gritting her teeth and prepared to watch Harry dance away the night with someone older and prettier than her. And that was exactly what was happening. Harry, the stupid git, was mooning over Parvati and Ginny, who felt just as stupid for actually going to the Ball, was still pouting.  
  
"She's so pretty," she whined, watching as yet another slow song began to play and Harry swept Parvati up in his arms once more. "She's so much prettier than I am. My stupid red hair and my stupid freckles."  
  
"She's not prettier than you are," Hermione said in exasperation and Ginny knew why. Hermione had spent the better part of the night comforting her rather than enjoying herself.  
  
"Harry just doesn't see what's right in front of him." Hermione continued, then glanced over at Ron. "Trust me, I know the feeling."  
  
Ginny just sighed and tugged at the sleeves of her robes again. "I shouldn't even be here," she said. "I'm just torturing myself."  
  
Ron nodded vigorously, stuffing another chocolate frog into his mouth. "Think of it this way, Gin. After this year he'll have graduated and you'll never see him again."  
  
Ginny stared at her brother for a long moment, then her jaw dropped. "He's right! I know how rare of an occurrence this is, but Ron is right. I have to do something now. After graduation I may never see Harry again."  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'm sure you'll see him, Ginny."  
  
"No, I'll never see him again," she said. "This is my last chance ever."  
  
Ron stood up, looking quite worried. "No, Gin, I didn't mean that."  
  
"Yes, you did."  
  
"No, I didn't. Don't go doing anything-"  
  
Ginny stood up and brushed past Ron.  
  
"Stupid," he finished miserably.  
  
Ron and Hermione watched in stunned silence as Ginny walked straight into the crowd on what looked like a war path. Ron gulped and glanced over at Hermione.  
  
"Am I the only one who fears for Parvati's life?" he asked.  
  
  
* * * *  
  
  
Ginny stood on tiptoe, trying to peer over the heads of the taller students in the crowd but it didn't do her much good. Harry had been near the head table earlier, but now she couldn't see him anywhere. She felt like a complete idiot wandering alone through the throng of dancing couples, but she felt as if she had a mission. She would find Harry and make him understand that they were meant to be together, it was so obvious that they would end up together forever, he just couldn't see it yet. It would be simply, really, all she had to do was get rid of Parvati somehow and everything would run smoothly from there.  
  
"Weasley," someone said from behind her and grabbed her shoulder. "Dance with me."  
  
Ginny found herself being turned around and strong arms were around her waist a second later. She blinked a few times and stared up in the darkened room to find Draco Malfoy's face smiling down at her. It took her another moment to read into the cocky grin on his face and realize that he had done this on purpose. He was trying to prevent her from getting to Harry.  
  
"I would, but I have to find someone else," she said, then tried to duck out of his grasp.  
  
Draco's arms tightened and he pressed Ginny's body against his chest. "Oh, come on, Weasley. Just one dance?"  
  
She sighed and glanced over to where she could now see Harry and Parvati dancing together. Draco followed her gaze and chuckled softly.  
  
"The Boy Who Lived can wait," he said. "One dance."  
  
Ginny's eyes went back to Draco and she sighed grudgingly. "Fine. One dance, but that's it."  
  
He grinned and squeezed her waist gently before releasing the steel grip he had on her. "That's more like it. I'm just trying to dance with the prettiest girl in the school."  
  
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Please, Malfoy, don't flatter yourself by thinking you're a decent liar."  
  
"What makes you think I'm lying?"  
  
She glanced up at him. "Only the fact that I'm about as plain as you get."  
  
Draco frowned, then glanced over at Harry. "Does he make you think that?"  
  
Ginny was taken aback, but she shook her head. "N-no . . . no one makes me think that. I just know. It's kind of hard to miss when you look into a mirror every day."  
  
"He does," Draco said. "He makes you think that because he's too stupid to pay attention to you."  
  
In the dim light Ginny found it hard to tell whether or not Draco was serious, but something about his voice made her believe that he was. Draco Malfoy, the one person who had taunted her family and her friends every day of her life at Hogwarts, was being genuinely nice to her. He was acting like he actually cared.  
  
"What does it matter to you?" she asked, still trying to read his eyes  
  
Draco looked back down at her. "I don't know . . . it just does."  
  
Ginny cocked her head, noticing how his arm tightened around her waist possessively when Harry finally looked over at them.  
  
"Why does it matter?" she asked, pushing against his chest.  
  
Draco blinked a few times, staring at her angrily. "Just never mind."  
  
"Sorry," Ginny muttered, then sighed and looked around the room.   
  
Ron and Hermione were both watching her, an amused grin playing across Hermione's mouth and a look of intense anger in Ron's eyes. Her gaze slipped past them to focus on Harry and Parvati, dancing together and they would have looked completely blissful if Harry's eyes hadn't been focused intently on Ginny and Draco.  
  
"He's staring at us," Draco said softly.  
  
Ginny glanced up at him, startled that he had followed her gaze across the room.  
  
"So?"  
  
Draco grinned and pulled her closer. "So, you want to make him jealous or not?"  
  
Ginny smiled softly. "I would love to, but anything you do won't make him jealous." She gestured at Harry who had already turned back to Parvati. "He doesn't really care."  
  
Draco looked over at Harry and shook his head. "Brainless git."  
  
"What?"  
  
He looked down at her. "Do you need me to spell it out, Weasley? I called him a brainless git."  
  
"Why?"  
  
Draco sighed in exasperation. "Because he's wasting his time on a silly bint who can only think about her hair and makeup when there's a perfectly nice and perfectly beautiful girl standing right in front of him."  
  
Ginny stared at him in surprise, then tried to hide the blush that had begun to creep up her cheeks.  
  
Draco laughed and raised his hand to her cheek. Ginny was shocked to feel his finger trembling against her skin as he trailed it down her face. He smiled again when she glanced up at him.  
  
"I like that," he said.  
  
"My blush?"  
  
He nodded. "And I'm pretty sure a girl like Parvati hasn't blushed in a long time."  
  
Ginny's flush deepened at this and she ducked her head slightly.  
  
"Thank you," she mumbled.  
  
Draco frowned and cocked his head. "What was that?"  
  
"I said thank you."  
  
"For what?"  
  
She smiled slightly. "For taking my mind off Harry."  
  
He smiled back at her. "Any time, Weasley."  
  
They fell silent, swaying back and forth to the music and Ginny found herself actually enjoying the warm weight of Draco's hands on her lower back. She didn't mind having her arms draped over his shoulders, her face near enough to his throat that she could smell whatever Wizarding cologne he wore. It was nice, he smelled nice and he felt nice. He made her feel nice, which, she decided, was probably quite important. He didn't make her feel like she was plain, surprisingly enough, Draco Malfoy was making her feel beautiful.  
  
"Want to go for a walk?" he asked suddenly.  
  
Ginny nodded, then grinned. "As long as it's not near the rosebushes," she said, then turned and began to leave the Great Hall. She turned back a second later to see Draco staring at her in disbelief and she laughed, then continued on her way out.  
  
It was snowing, fat, lazy flakes drifting down from the sky to settle in huge drifts all over the yard. Ginny skipped down the stairs, deciding that for the moment she didn't care who she was with, she was just going to enjoy herself. A soft wind lifted her hair off her face and she closed her eyes, smiling up at the moon. Snow drifted down around her, settling in her hair and on the shoulders of her robes. It didn't matter that Draco had been the one to follow her outside rather than Harry because she felt happy standing in the falling snow.  
  
Until a snowball smashed against her shoulder and splattered all over her robes. Her eyes snapped open and she turned, scooping up snow as she moved. Draco wasn't prepared for the ball of snow that whistled through the air and it smacked against his forehead a second later. Ginny stifled a laugh as his jaw dropped and he raised two fingers to wipe the snow from his eye.   
  
"You asked for that, Malfoy," she said, turning her back on him again and skipping away.   
  
Draco watched her for a long moment, then brushed the rest of the snow off his face and followed her, still marvelling at her excellent aim.  
  
"Where did you learn to throw like that?" he asked when he had caught up to her.  
  
Ginny just smiled. "I have six brothers. I had to learn to protect myself."  
  
Draco chuckled and fell silent as they walked down toward the lake. It wasn't very cold, but their breath puffed out before them, hanging in the air for a moment before it disappeared. The moon glinted off the few patches of ice that had formed on the lake and icicles hung down from the trees around it's shore.  
  
"It's quiet," Ginny said finally.  
  
Draco nodded. "I'm surprised we don't hear the random giggling of hormonal teenagers."  
  
Ginny glanced at him. "Like you haven't snuck out here past years."  
  
"I haven't!" he protested.  
  
"Why don't I believe that?" Ginny asked, sitting on the lake shore and staring out over the water.  
  
Draco sat beside her and frowned. "I haven't."  
  
"You haven't?" she asked, looking at him.  
  
Draco shook his head. "In case you haven't noticed I've never even asked a girl to the Yule Ball."  
  
"I . . . well, I hadn't noticed," Ginny said.  
  
"Why didn't you ask Potter if you wanted him so badly?" he asked, changing the subject.  
  
Ginny shrugged. "I was too scared."  
  
"Of what?"  
  
She stared at him incredulously. "Of what? Of him rejecting me . . . laughing at me."  
  
Draco sighed. "You can't live your life being scared of rejection or you'll never do anything and you'll end up bitter because of all your regrets."  
  
Ginny looked over at him. "You sound like an expert on this."  
  
Draco shrugged. "I have a strict policy of no regrets . . . I don't want to end up like my parents."  
  
A smile twitched on Ginny's lips. "I wouldn't mind ending up like my parents."  
  
Draco snorted. "Well, yeah . . . they're happy."  
  
"Yours aren't?"  
  
"Have you ever seen them?"  
  
Ginny nodded slowly.  
  
"They're bitter and they're old before their times," Draco said, then shrugged. "No regrets," he murmured.  
  
"Hm?" Ginny asked, turning to look at him.  
  
Draco heaved a sigh, then turned toward her, his hand suddenly covering hers. Ginny bit her lip, feeling her heart quicken, then cursed her signature blush that rose on her cheeks. She didn't even know why she was reacting like this, she didn't like Draco . . . did she?  
  
"If I was always scared of rejection I wouldn't be doing this," he said.  
  
"Doing what?" Ginny asked, suddenly not sure she wanted to know the answer at all.  
  
As an answer his other hand came up to rest on her shoulder, his fingers toying gently with the ends of her hair. His thumb brushed over her throat and Ginny felt her heart seize up and she swore it stopped beating. His simple touch had completely robbed her of breath and she was sure that as he leaned down she would keel over and die from lack of oxygen.  
  
Slowly and very tentatively, Draco's lips brushed over hers. It was nothing like the kisses she'd seen on the covers of her mother's romance novel, nothing like the scene stealing kisses in the Muggle movies Ron and Hermione had made her watch, but it was perfect without all the fireworks. His lips were soft and warm, touching hers ever so slightly and pressing down harder for just a moment before he backed away.   
  
Ginny watched him, her eyes were completely glued to his face as she watched for any sign that he was making fun of her or trying to make her feel stupid. But as he moved away from her, he looked just as nervous as she did and he bit his lip, watching her carefully.   
  
"Why did you do that?" she asked softly.  
  
He blinked, then looked away. "I wanted to."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Draco frowned. "Should I have not?"  
  
"No . . . no, it was okay."  
  
He smirked. "Just okay?"  
  
Ginny tried to hide her smile. "Better than okay."  
  
Draco nodded. "Okay."  
  
They fell silent again and it was a moment before Ginny noticed that Draco's hand was still covering hers. It hadn't been like she had expected her first kiss to be . . . no, it had definitely been better. Ginny hitched air into her lungs, only now remembering to breathe. Harry had completely left her mind, the only thing she was now concentrating on was how comfortable she felt sitting at Draco's side. There was no stumbling for words, no heated cheeks because she found herself feeling stupid and plain, just a comfortable silence.   
  
"If it was more than okay, would it be okay if I did it again?" he asked suddenly.  
  
Her blush crept back up her cheeks, but it wasn't unwanted that time. She lowered her eyes, bit her lips, then looked back up at him and nodded.  
  
Draco leaned back toward her and Ginny found her breath leaving her again. She hadn't lied earlier; it had been much better than okay. It had left her completely breathless.  
  
  
End  
  
My little contribution to fluff ... It was originally a Harry/Ginny story, but that ended up being too predictable. 


End file.
